Chillin'
by Kaybee80
Summary: This story is an off-shoot to my main fic, "Spring and Summer Only." If you were a member of New Directions, wouldn't you want to spend some time hanging out with everybody's favorite ship... Samcedes? I know I would! This series of related one-shots describes the raunchy times that can pop off when teenagers have way too much time on their hands. Enjoy!
1. Hikes and Overnights With Tike

**A/N: This chapter is an off-shoot to chapter 8 of Spring and Summer Only. It basically describes the Truth or Dare game played by the two couples on the first night of the camping trip (in more lurid detail, obviously). Hope you like it! I have a whole series planned!**

**Disclaimer: I do not now, nor will I ever claim ownership of Glee, its characters, or the manner in which those characters are mistreated on television. I would never admit to being responsible for the hot mess my favorite show has become.**

* * *

**Chapter 1**

**Fun In The Woods With Tike**

**Mercedes POV:**

June 14, 2012**  
**

_Then we played a game of Truth or Dare, with the tequila as a consequence for questions left unanswered and dares left undone. It went something like this:_

"Truth or Dare, Cedes?" started Tina.

"Truth."

"Did you ever have a real crush on a Glee boy other than Sam?"

"Yeah…Puck."

That was kind of hard to admit.

"For real?" Tina exclaimed. "I thought your relationship with him was as fake as Santana's tits!"

We all broke out laughing, and I clarified my words, saying "Well, yeah; it was…but Puck's kind of a hottie. Plus, the day he walked into Glee the first time he totally caught me off guard. I sort of thought his being there was a sign he wasn't an asshole anymore."

"Were your feelings hurt when your fake relationship ended?" Mike asked.

"Oh, hell no…Don't get me wrong-without the Mohawk Puck was even hotter. But he was still a douche-bag!"

"I knew you thought he was hot! God, am I glad he's such a fuck-up…" Sam cut in. "…I used to be scared shitless that you two would have hooked up before I got back."

We all looked at Sam like he was crazy.

"What? Mercy lives for a guy that can make her laugh. You gotta admit, Puckerman loves to get her giggling."

"Yeah, so he can see her tits jiggle," Mike added, which cracked everybody up.

Then Sam got back on track, "Tina? Truth or Dare?"

"Truth."

"Have you ever gotten high?"

"Yeah, right after graduation-with Mike and Puck."

"Wow, I really wasn't expecting a yes out of you, what made you want to try it?"

"Puck made Mike promise we'd either do a threesome or smoke a joint with him if he graduated on time." Tina laughed.

"Oh, hell…he tried to get us to promise that same shit!" I interrupted.

"Yeah, 'Cedes cussed him out and I slapped him upside the head. I can't believe you two took him up on it." Sam continued, laughingly.

"It was actually okay, pretty fun to be honest," Mike admitted. "Better than the alternative."

"We watched a Teen Mom marathon and Puck kept pointing out what all the girls had in common with Quinn. It was hilarious," Tina interjected.

"Or at least, it was until he got all morose and started preaching about how he wasn't gonna let Beth ever be that sad," Mike went on.

"But he made us each a bowl of ice cream with Honey Smacks on top, and gave us white cheddar cheese popcorn with Reese's Pieces and almonds thrown in. The munchie food alone was worth all the bitching he did," Tina finished. "Makes me wonder if he asked all of the Glee couples though."

"I asked him," Mike informed us. "He said, and I quote, "Only the ones where I haven't banged the girl already."

"You know, I was better off not knowing that shit," Tina replied. "Sam, Truth or Dare?"

"Dare," he answered, looking over at me. I could tell he wasn't too keen on answering a bunch of personal questions, and I completely agreed with him.

"I want you to show us some of your White Chocolate skills," she said, looking way too interested in my man's naked body.

"Nah, I'll take the consequence…only Mercy can see me in my stripper suit these days." He takes the shot, and says "Mike, Truth or Dare?"

"Truth."

"Two part question: Have you and Tina ever done a threesome, and if not…who in Glee would you do one with if you could?" Sam asked, interestedly.

"No, we haven't," Mike looked really embarrassed before he continued. "But if we did, don't get mad but…if we could, we'd pick 'Cedes."

_Oh, shit…_

"He's not lying, guys…we've actually talked about this before," Tina added.

I don't say anything, not even hell-to-the-no, since my mouth had quit working.

"I'm not mad. Or surprised…man, you're always looking for excuses to hug up on Mercy" Sam tells Mike. "As for Tina, 'Cedes told me last summer that most White girls go through a period of bi-curiosity at some point."

"Sam, Asians aren't white…" Tina defended.

"Yeah, plus that's racist!" Mike shouted.

"You're honorary white people if you're family has been in America longer than three generations. I mean, the only people native to this country are the Native Americans, right?" Sam explained, still unapologetic.

By this time I'd finally picked up my jaw from the ground and could respond to Mike.

"Am I your little chocolate fantasy, or would you guys try to incorporate me into your relationship...you know, form a thruple?"

Sam looks at me like I have three heads.

"Oh, definitely the thruple," Tina answers. "We respect you too much to try to get you as a booty buddy."

By now Sam realizes we're fucking with him, so he chuckles and says,"Mike its your turn to ask someone, now."

"Cedes, Truth or Dare?"

"Dare," I decided after the last question not to answer any questions, either. I could take part in embarrassing dares or take shots all night, if it meant I kept Tina's blabbering ass out of my business.

"You have to either kiss or motorboat Tina!"

_He's way too excited about this._

"Sammy, what do you think?" I asked my boyfriend.

"I'm cool with the kiss; Mike, you're a pervert for suggesting the motorboat."

So Tina and I reenacted the Ally-on-Ling smooch from Ally McBeal. It honestly didn't do much for me... I guess girls just aren't my thing. Or maybe I only get the tingles from lips that are plump like Sam's. But Tin-Tin was moaning out loud. It was actually kind of funny.

"My turn, Sam Truth or Dare?"

"Dare, baby" he replied.

"Give Tin-Tin a lap dance without taking off any clothes."

I'm pretty sure Tina's gonna love me for life, cause she's up and running into her and Mike's room for her laptop. Before Sam can even agree to it or take the consequence, she has "Party Rock Anthem" playing, and is sitting down on the armchair in the corner.

While Sam is shaking his booty and working his Windy City for all it was worth in Tina's face, Mike was laughing his ass off and cracking jokes. Eventually, though, Sam got really into his little dance (just like I knew he would). You would have thought the rent was due the way Sam made sure to get right up in her face with his package. Then he started grabbing her hands to run up and down his abs. My baby really took it up a notch when he reached down, picked Tina up, and sat down in the chair-taking her with him. It was really sexy, from a onlooker's point of view, to see Sam humping Tina from beneath while she bounced up and down on his thighs. He really showed his ass, and Tina had a great time. When it looked like Tina was really having way too much fun, Mike decided to stop them.

"Hey, asshole...you can quit shaking your moneymaker now!"

"Whatever dude, I give lessons on Thursday nights if you wanna learn how to turn your lady on for real," joked Sam.

Then Sam asked, "Mike Truth or Dare?"

"Truth, dumbass."

"Have you and your girl ever dressed up as anything before getting freaky?"

"Ummm...just because we're Asian it doesn't mean we're doing geisha girl and samurai fantasies in the sack, I'll take the shot."

"Mercy, Truth or Dare?" Mike asked.

"Dare."

"I dare you to give me a hickey...anywhere you like!" Mike answered.

"Okay, hold out your arm.."

The game went on like this for awhile, until finally Sam challenged me to a dare:

"Mercy, Truth or Dare?"

"Dare!"

"I dare you to say goodnight to Tike, its time for bed!"

"Goodnight, Tike!"

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**A/N: Next up: Hanging out in a pool house with Bartana!**


	2. Being in Bartana's Business

**A/N: This chapter takes place the week before the fourth of July, right after Chapter 10 of "Spring and Summer Only" ends. It includes an afternoon of poolside fun, and a modified take on "Samcedes Sex Therapy."**

**Disclaimer: I do not now, nor will I ever claim ownership of Glee, its characters, or the manner in which those characters are mistreated on television. I would never admit to being responsible for the hot mess my favorite show has become.**

* * *

**Chapter 2**

**Getting in Bartana's Business**

**Mercedes POV:  
**

June 30, 2012**  
**

The kickoff party, camping trip, and Vegas family vacation were all really great starts to our wonderful summer. Sam and I decided on the Friday we got back that we wanted to see the hot shitty mess that is Bartana in action. So we called up Satan and invited ourselves over to her pool house the next day so we could hang out with her and her boos. I know me and Tana have had our run-ins, but we really bonded when led the Trouble Tones together. Quinn may be like family, Kurt may be my cosmic twin, and Tina is definitely my ace for life…but I can honestly say Santana is one of my best friends.

Our relationship is mainly based on having so many things in common; we both have boot-strapper daddies, we both are loud and in-your-face, we both say Sam is the best boyfriend either of us ever had, and we have serious musical chemistry. Sure, I wanted to watch the interaction between Artie, Britt, and Tana…but I also want to make sure my fellow HBIC is happy.

That Saturday Sam and I showed up, as agreed, with hamburger meat, hot dogs, steaks, and buns. Artie brought condiments, and had his dad make cold side dishes for us to grub on. Brittany was in charge of chips, ice, and paper products. Satan provided the location and access to her dad's liquor cabinet. As soon as we got there the boys got the grill going while us girls took a dip in the pool.

After playing and eating all five of us went into the pool house watched a _Jersey Shore _marathonwhile getting kind of tipsy. When everybody had a good buzz going, Satan got started.

"So Wheezy and Trouty, Tin-Tin told me ya'll had a good time camping a couple of weeks ago. Samcedes trying to get in time with all the couples one by one before September?"

"Basically," I answered. "You three were just lucky you ended up being next on our to-do list."

She already knew I was just messing with her.

"We're gonna give Finchel a pass, though" added Sam.

"Smart man," joked Artie. "Without school rules holding her back, Cedes might just cut Rachel for real otherwise."

Everyone shared a laugh at the truth of his words.

"Well I think its kinda fucked up; you played Truth or Dare with the kinky Asians, what if we wanted to hear about some of the shit you two get up to?" Satan continued.

"Cause yo' ass would have tried to record that shit on your camera phone and put it on Youtube, bitch!" I answered her.

Britt cut in with, " San, you know Tina told us everything they said anyway."

_I'm-a kill Tina._

"You know what was really interesting?" Artie interjected. "The game they told us you guys played last summer to get comfortable talking about sex. I wish we had thought of that!"

"We don't need games to open up, Bluetooth…I put all my shit on front street. You want to know if I suck dick, just ask me," Santana crowed.

"That's true," Britt said. "But the game still sounds like fun, better than Truth or Dare, even."

"Let's play it now…" Satan suggested. "Come, on…it'll be fun."

"But 'Cedes and me only played it so we could open up a dialogue about what kind of stuff we were curious about doing with each other…" Sam spoke up. "…what would be the point of doing it with people we don't want to sleep with?"

"Right?" I finished his thought. "The Great Glee Orgy isn't gonna pop off just because you guys decide to bite on my idea."

"Who the hell said anything about fucking you two?" Satan asked, sounding offended. "I mean, ya'll are hot together, or whatever and if I were single I'd probably be trying to get all up in between a Tilt-A-Swirl Sandwich for real…"

"But sex is way better be when you have feelings for the other one, or two," finished Britt.

"Yeah, what she said…the only reason I wanna play the stupid game is so I can be nosy."

_Gotta love her honesty._

"Santana is right, you guys shared intimate details about your sex lives and innermost thoughts with Tike. We love you just as much as they do, and I know you're curious about our relationship…So let's play!" Artie concluded.

So we all agreed to write down questions anonymously, Sam and I would each come up with 3 questions for any or all of Bartana to answer, while they each came up with 2 for us. That way each couple (or thruple) would have a total of six nosy-ass questions to answer. We also decided we would take shots while writing them down, since the liquor would loosen our tongues. By the time we had each downed 3, we were all tipsy, but not so much that we'd be slurring our words. I went first, pulling from the bowl of paper scraps they had put the "Samcedes" inquiries into.

"This question is for Sam," I began, reading out loud "Who taught you how to eat pussy?"

Everybody perked up while Sam blushed, and Satan chuckled, "Yeah, we know you been getting yo' face time in with Mercy's va-jay-jay. I know the look of a dude who just pulled his tongue outta paradise, and you had the grin on your face on the last day of school.

_Shit, this broad is a sex genius._

"Plus, we heard moaning in the auditorium…you didn't even get the smell off your hands before Glee rehearsal started," added Britt.

_Shit, I tried to get him to wash his hands, but he claims he likes my scent on him._

Sam was hiding his face, but his red ears told me he was having shyness overload when Artie put his two cents in. "And I know you weren't getting any from Quinn, or Satan…" he continued "…so how'd you know how to handle 'Cedes?"

I actually never asked Sam this, so I was kind of curious myself.

"Okay, guys I get it…" Sam had obviously made up his mind to just tell us what we wanted to know, you can tell when he decides to fuck the shyness and just not give a fuck.

"Ya'll know I went to boarding school for 5 years before we moved to Lima. My best friend and roommate the whole time was a guy named Justin Morris. Black guy, really cool…we had a lot in common."

Sam's mentioned Justin once or twice before. Apparently they both had huge extended families, and younger twin siblings. They played together on the football and basketball teams too.

"Anyway, he was basically a pussy hound like Puck. Never met a girl he didn't like; color didn't matter to him, size didn't matter, body type... You actually see that a lot in boarding schools. Guess the all-boys environment is really good at teaching young dudes to appreciate female beauty in all its forms…" Sam babbled.

_And Kurt never hooked me up with any of his Dalton classmates? I owe him a head-slap whenever he and I make up._

"…anyway, Justin used to screw all the girls at our sister school on the regular, but this one time he hooked up with a townie girl who basically told him he wasn't about shit in the sack. Told him she didn't give a rat's ass about his rep, that he was gonna need to make her come if he wanted up in her undies again.

_Girl after my own heart. _

"She was this really tall girl, kind of big-boned but built like a fucking brick house, and she had a face like Beyonce. He was crazy about her and wanted to be invited back into her panties, and often."

_I never noticed it before, but every time Sam describes a pretty female, he always compares her to a Black woman. Guess he's been feening after chocolate longer than I thought._

"It fucked up his world. He snuck back into the dorm drunk off his ass and told me he had to figure out how to eat pussy before he saw her again. Since he was my best friend I helped him find a few articles online and we kind of promised to let each other know if the tips we got were any good."

He's blushing again, guess it is kind of embarrassing to admit that you actually Googled the phrase "How to Eat Pussy." I never told him that was exactly how I learned to deep-throat.

"Justin tried it that same week, and had 'ol girl screaming his name. I didn't get a chance to practice until Mercy let me test my skills on her though." Then he did the eye-brow wiggle at me and nuzzled my neck.

_Thank God for Freaky ass Private school boys._

I was curious, so I asked "Did you tell him when you did it to me?"

"Yeah, who do you think gave me the idea try it at school?"

_Gotta send that Justin a fruit basket._

"Judging by the look on Mercedes' face, you obviously graduated with honors…My turn now though," Artie broke in.

He pulled a slip of paper from his bowl and read "For Artie, who is a better fuck…Britt or Santana?"

Artie got this look of determination across his face before he began with, "I know you all expect me to say something positive about both of them so I don't piss anybody off, or not answer the question for what it is. But since Sam just answered his question truthfully I'm gonna be a man and just lay it on front street. Santana."

"Why?" Sam asked.

"Well, Britt was my first, and our sex life before was very sweet. She was basically teaching me about physical love while I taught her about emotional love. It was very lovey dovey and fraught with feelings. With Satan, though, it was all about the orgasm. When they added me to their lovemaking I realized I had a little bit of a thing for bad girls. Tana is raunchy, has no boundaries, and ain't afraid to demand what she wants. I can let my inner asshole out with her, and she just soaks it right up," Artie continued. "I guess I like my sex life to have a little bite to it."

"I'm not mad, Artie…and I agree. San really does go above and beyond when it comes to getting off." Britt rubbed the back of his neck and kissed him before sitting on his lap.

"Way to man up, Wheels" Santana congratulated him.

"My turn," Sam broke in. It seems like he was having a good time, just like when we played it this in his motel room. I guess stuff like this is only awkward for the first few minutes.

"This is for Mercy…" Sam started. "Have you and Sam ever fat-turbated or experimented with chunky-kink?" Sam was obviously outraged now. "Okay, who the hell came up with this shit? I told you; I don't have a type…I love all kinds of women. I ain't no damn fetishist! And Mercy's not even big enough for that type of shit…you have to be built like Zizes to do any of that!"

"Calm yo' tits, man…I didn't mean it like that," laughed Artie. "I know Miss Thicky Thick over there ain't bodacious enough for that kind of stuff now, but last summer she was a lot bigger."

"He's right, Sam. You could have easily lubed up her tummy rolls and used them to get off back then," added Britt.

"It's okay, baby…I'm not offended. Plus, we have done some borderline fat fetish stuff. You get off between my thighs all the time, and my ass cheeks too."

"Damn, Trouty…" Santana interrupted. "That shit is hot as hell…Plus, any titty-fucking you two get up to counts. Aretha's got the only set of natural Double D's at McKinley so if you think about it like that, getting a boob job _is_ kind of kinky around here."

"I'm not from around here, Satan!" Sam blustered. "Girls in Tennessee, especially Black girls, have body types that look a lot more like Mercy than Quinn or Brittany. She's a more natural standard of beauty to me than you are, if you want the truth. If I was really gonna be into any type of weirdo sex, I would have fucked you!"

Now Sam's laughing while Satan looks proud of him for getting in her grill. I guess Brittany didn't want this line of conversation to get too heated, so she pulled out a scrap to go next.

"Mercy wants to know if Satan still likes dick, or if she only lets Artie penetrate me." Then she looks at me and says, "I can tell your handwriting."

"I still like sex with boys, I'm not a militant lesbian. I just don't like being mounted like a racehorse. It works out real good with A-Team cuz he can't help but be a bottom."

"Hold the hell, up Satan… ain't nothing submissive about Artie Abrams. I can make you scream and squirt without moving my damn legs," Artie bragged.

"True, your turn 'Cedes."

"I have to answer this one too. Wonder who drew the rainbow in the corner of the paper…Did you ever have sex with Shane?"

_Bless Britt and her simple heart. She knew the answer to this one before she even wrote it. _

"No, we never even made out unsupervised. I slapped the hell out of him the first time he tried to palm my tits over the shirt."

Sam's getting kind of pissed off at the thought of Shane groping me so I added, "My pussy belongs to Sam-I-Am and Sam-I-Am alone."

Sam calms down visibly and Satan goes "That's the sweetest thing I ever heard anybody say, Wheezy. Now it's my turn."

"Artie, are you still in love with Brittany, and do you think you could ever love me too?"

"Yes, and yes." Artie looked down before asking, "Even if you never feel the same way, I know our thruple is good for all three of us. When the whole thing crashes and burns, I'll always look back on this summer and smile…"

It was getting a little heavy, so I motioned for Sam to take the next paper.

"This one is for both of us…have you ever did the nasty raw?"

Sam and I looked at each other and answered together "Hell to the no!"

"Damn, you two…didn't you ever get curious?" Artie asked. "I mean, isn't it really tempting when you're all committed and everything?"

"Yes," Sam began "but we're both even more committed to being as safe as humanly possible."

"Could you imaging the shit storm that would hit our lives if we got pregnant?" I asked. "You saw what happened to Quinn.."

"And our parents are letting us get away with murder this summer, because they trust us." Then Sam continued with "We can wait until we get engaged, or better yet, married."

"You two are forever, even I can see that." Britt agreed. "You have plenty of time for that."

The game lasted for the better part of two hours, and since we were all toasted, we decided to just all spend the night. Surprisingly enough, neither Satan nor Artie tried to get any freaky shit to pop off. We just all piled in to the beds and couches for a sleepover.

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**A/N: This was way too fun to write! I'm thinking of making the next one include a little Kurtcedes drama.. Sorry in advance!**


	3. Playing the Blame Game With Klaine

**A/N: This chapter takes place sometime in the block of time between the Orlando trip and the Yosemite one. As promised, it will describe, in detail, the drama between Mercedes and her GBF. I hope ya'll Kurtcedes fans won't hate me for this. **

**I honestly feel like a little shade would definitely have been thrown in 'Cedes' directions when the masses heard her good news. Here's Samcedes' response to it. Anyway, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not now, nor will I ever claim ownership of Glee, its characters, or the manner in which those characters are mistreated on television. I would never admit to being responsible for the hot mess my favorite show has become.**

* * *

**Chapter 3**

**Friday Night's Alright for Fighting**

**Sam POV:  
**

July 13, 2012**  
**

Since Mercy and me have been hanging out with all of our friends in small groups this summer, and ALL of them seem to be aware of it, we pretty much knew we would eventually end up spending some time with Klaine. 'Cedes has been kinda worried about it, because she and Kurt haven't been on the best of terms lately.

It all started after Mercedes started telling people about her job with the record producer. Most of the New Directions were really happy for her, and she got a lot of congratulations for about a week. Mr. Shue even told a bunch of people he'd always been sure he had a star on his hands, ever since the day she sang at auditions sophomore year. Fake as some of the compliments were, Mercy was really excited and super pleased that so many people were happy for her. When Kurt, Finn, and Rachel got their acceptance and rejection letters, though, people's true colors started to show.

Rachel, as everyone knows, got in. But she started the mess by going on JBI's blog and posting comments about how proud she was of Mercy. When other people did the same thing, Ms. Berry couldn't take anyone else getting the star treatment…so she replied to her own comment, saying that she didn't see how a reputable record label would ever hire singers based on one Youtube video. Then she pointed out that she (the STAR of New Directions) had been posting videos of herself on Myspace and Youtube for years, but had never even been approached, which should have been a red flag. After that, Berry called Mercy and advised her to have the label checked out.

Mercedes didn't bat an eye, she was already prepared for Berry to hate. But when Tina told her about it, 'Cedes couldn't believe that Kurt hadn't been the one to let her know shade was being thrown. The whole thing pretty much cemented the fact that Kurt had a new bestie and that his loyalty now lay with Ms. Broadway. She never said so out loud, but I could tell it really hurt Mercy's feelings.

At our summer kickoff party, Kurt drew Mercy to the side and asked her if there was any way she could introduce he and Rachel to her producer. The fact was, that at the time Mercedes hadn't even met with her new boss in person. They had marathon phone and Skype sessions, Mercy sent him hundreds of MP3's of her singing, and they even texted each other back and forth to touch base. But they didn't meet until the week of our Vegas vacation when the two of us and her parents took the three hour drive west to meet her new boss and tour the production offices.

Mercedes told Kurt this, and that she honestly didn't think it would be professional of her to ask for any favors yet. When she said that, Kurt accused her of being jealous of his friendship and sabotaging their chances out of bitterness.

My baby wasn't about to take that lying down, so she told him if anyone had EVER sabotaged Kurt, it was his so-called friend. Then she reminded him of West Side Story, Senior Class elections, and more recently, NYADA acceptances. Mercy told Kurt that Rachel had managed to steal his slot at the New York school by stalking Carmen Tibideax and whining her ass off. She told him that it wasn't her place to make sure that he and Rachel were the c/o 2012's breakout stars, and that if they wanted to do what she had done they should get on her level.

Then Kurt told her that everything Rachel had posted about her was true, and whenever her so-called success fizzed out, she would be begging them for forgiveness. At that point Santana, Puck, Unique and I had eavesdropped enough to come over and defend Mercedes, which made Kurt feel like he was being ganged up on. After telling Mercy to call him when she could admit how wrong she was, he left in a huff.

The only reason we are considering a Klaine/Samcedes outing at all is because Blaine begged us to. He and I are pretty cool, we used to do a lot of stuff together; go running, play video games, that kind of thing. Back when Mercy and I first told Glee we were a couple, the four of us would hang out. Blaine's actually a really cool dude. After my girl and l got back together this year, me and Blaine would go work out whenever Kurt and 'Cedes got to talking about fashion.

Blaine wanted to hang out with us and get tipsy like the other couples because, according to the grapevine, we're basically the most fun couple in Glee. So he and I decided we would all go to Blaine's and have a Mexican sci-fi marathon, complete with margaritas, tacos and however many _Star Wars _movies we could get through. I'm pretty sure Mercy was smuggling in her own personal stash of tequila too.

When we arrived at Blaine's with all the garnishes, taco shells, and a 6 pack of Dos Esquis, Blaine opened the door wearing a poncho and a fake mustache. We looked around him and saw Kurt there in a sombrero and a lot of beaded jewelry. Mercy and I laughed and just like that, the ice was broken.

Blaine and Kurt went to assemble the toppings and sides, buffet style while Mercy and I put in _Empire. _She whispered to me that she wanted to have fun, and that I had her permission to kiss her silly if the topic of conversation got heated. We snuggled in the den for a minute before Klaine came in, each bearing a huge serving tray. I'm pretty sure they'd had their own version of our whispered conversation because they were smiling like loony birds and being overly polite.

After the first movie, Blaine turned to us to ask a question that I guess had been bothering him.

"Sam and Mercedes, when you partied with Tike and Bartana did you guys watch movies all night?"

"No, Blaine…everybody knows about the epic Truth or Dare session and the modified Sex Therapy game," answered Kurt.

"Actually, Kurt…" started Mercy, "our bonding night with Tike all started with a game of _The Bad Girls Club _drinking game. And we watched a marathon on MTV with Bartana."

"Oh, well I apologize for assuming…" Kurt started.

"Don't worry, I'm used to it." Mercy replied.

Then I pulled her onto my lap and kissed her before she could keep going.

"Damn, Sam…" Blaine laughed. "What was that for?"

"Sometimes you just gotta kiss your lady, Blaine" I played it off.

"You know, you two really are a very sweet couple," Kurt added, obviously seeing that his attitude was responsible for the awkwardness. "You're about the only Glee couple who never went full-on porn in front of people at school."

"Time and place, Kurt…Besides, you guys never went in for the big PDA either." I wondered aloud.

"It makes sense though, if you think about it, baby…" Mercy said. "…who in the hell wants to deal with the sheeple looking at you like a museum exhibit?"

"I imagine you guys don't exactly relish the thought of judgmental people watching you kiss either, right?" Blaine asked.

"We couldn't care less about the opinions of the assholes at that school," I stated. "We have a lot of reasons for keeping our relationship low key."

"Yeah, Sam and I were the leaders of the God Squad. We know even the biggest heathen can read a Bible long enough to understand that lust is sinful. We wanted to set a good example." Mercy explained.

"And I don't like people in my business like that, especially after the Muckraker article last year." I added.

"Plus, we prefer to express our love in private." Mercy finished.

Kurt asked "but you didn't mind airing your dirty laundry in the woods with Tike or in Satan's pool house?"

"We were with our best friends, and none of our laundry is dirty, Kurt." Mercy answered, her back obviously up again.

I turned her face and kissed her deeply again.

"Kurt, that was a little harsh…" Blaine informed him. "You and I play Truth or Dare with Finn and Rachel all the time."

"Sorry, sorry…" he answered, obviously not sorry at all. "didn't mean to offend. Mercy, there was a time when I could express my opinion to you without you getting upset."

"No there wasn't, Kurt." Mercy began. "I was upset when you advised me to starve myself for the Cheerios..."

"That's not fair, Mercedes! I never told you to starve yourself..." Kurt defended himself. "I only wanted you to be live healthier!"

"Kurt you told me...and I quote, 'Look what I'm eating...peeled celery, and for breakfast, I had Splenda' endquote!" Mercy said.

I really had no idea he'd been that sarcastic or ugly towards Mercy. I also wanted to smack him down for trying to get rid of the fluff I love so much.

"But that's not the only thing you've said or done to fuck with my feelings...I was upset when you accused me of substituting you for a boyfriend, I was upset when you left me out of your New York adventure, and I was upset at my party, when you called me a selfish jealous bitch!"

Blaine and I tried to diffuse but, Mercy probably would have bitten me if I had gone in for a kiss right then; and Kurt kept swatting the placating hand Blaine tried to place on his arm.

"So, just because I don't always tell you what you want to hear…" Kurt started.

"Kurt, don't even go there. I never begrudged you the right to your opinions. I just wish that you would try to think about how some of your words affect me before you say them. You're the worst kind of judgmental know-it-all, letting loose with all of your thoughts without caring how I would take it."

Mercy looked like she was about to break into sobs, but kept going.

"How would you like it if I had 'advised' you to be less flamboyant back when you were being bullied, or if I'd called you a gay predator when you used to hit on Finn 3 years ago? You wouldn't have liked it at all, maybe even lumped me in with the other people making you miserable…but that shit would have been just as true as your words to me were. The only difference is, I care too much about your feelings to have let that mess come out of my mouth. You never cared about me that much." She bit back another sob and finished with, "Sometimes you were just as bad as the assholes picking on me at school, you just did it in the name of friendship!"

"I say that kind of thing all the time to Rachel, and it just rolls off her back," Kurt defended himself. "You only want me to be your friend on your terms, and I'm sorry but I don't live my life that way."

"So you were only being a friend when you hurt my feelings?" Mercy asked.

"Yes."

"And when you asked me for an introduction to my new boss?"

"Rachel said…"

"That's right, Rachel said." Mercy interrupted. "She spent three years telling the world I wasn't good enough to get her solos, then feels entitled to what I achieved, simply because she didn't make it happen first? Were you being a friend when she made all those comments online? Did you tell her to stop acting jealous and throwing off on me via the internet? Did you defend me when she posted her shit? Or did just let her convince you she should have been the one to have it first?"

By this time, Mercy was crying and shaking in my lap.

"I'm sorry… but your brand of friendship isn't working for me, either," she sobbed.

Blaine and I had been watching and listening, not saying a word. He spoke up here, though.

"Mercedes, Kurt doesn't feel that way at all. I mean, he cries every time you sing in Glee. Of course he respects your talent enough to think you deserve to be a star."

Kurt gave a small shrug and averted his eyes.

"And if Rachel still doesn't have her Tony when I get my Grammy, will he still think so? Or will he call her on the phone to complain about the fall of the recording industry?"

"Mercy, don't let this make you so upset..."

I hate to see her cry.

"..You've obviously had these feelings for awhile…why put it all out there tonight?"

"Exactly, Mercedes…Sam and I had an altercation back when he first came back to McKinley; which was totally my fault…again, so sorry bro." Blaine apologized for like, the 15th time. "…We got past it and actually became really close. Could you two just agree to let it go?" Blaine asked.

"I agree with Blaine, all that internet stuff happened a whole month ago. Even if you two are never close again, we should have been able to hang out tonight without ya'll fighting. You'll be moving on soon; why not just let the friendship drift apart, instead of letting in out now?" I didn't want her to think I was siding against her, so I clarified. "Usually when someone hurts your feelings, Mercy, you get if off your chest to me, instead of forcing the issue with them…"

"Because, Sam…it's a horrible way to live your life! I've been letting people walk all over me for way too long. I was even gonna let my father keep me from using my talent to do what I love for a living. It took you standing up for me and posting that video for me to get the picture," Mercy explained while wiping her tears with a tissue from her purse. "Baby, you appreciate me, my new boss appreciates me, Tina appreciates me, even Satan appreciates me! I deserve to surround myself with people like you all."

I didn't interrupt to tell her this, but I totally agreed with her.

"If Kurt can't, then he should know how I feel about it. I don't want him buying my albums 10 years from now and telling the sales clerk he was my best friend way back when. I want him to remember this stuff so maybe he treats his next best friend better."

That was all I had to hear.

"Mercy has a point. She's right, Kurt…you owe her an apology for how you've treated her. Blaine, I'll call you for a run next week, but we'll be going now. You can keep the beer." I offered. "Kurt, I'll call your mom to tell her I'm staying with Puck tonight. Ya'll have a nice night."

And we left as quickly as we could.

* * *

**A/N: I think Sam and Mercedes would make some time to hang out with the God Squad, don't you? That's whats next!**


	4. Christian Kids Can Kick It, Too

**A/N: This chapter takes place two days after the waylaid sci-fi marathon in the last chapter. Mercedes and Sam are taking a whole Sunday to spend with their fellow God-Squad members, and Unique (who in my opinion probably would have joined the club in Season 4). Hope you enjoy it!**

**Disclaimer: I do not now, nor will I ever claim ownership of Glee, its characters, or the manner in which those characters are mistreated on television. I would never admit to being responsible for the hot mess my favorite show has become.**

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**Chapter 4**

**In The Spirit with the God Squad**

**Sam POV:**

July 15, 2012

Since it was pretty obvious to Mercy and me that all of our close friends wanted some time with us before summer was over, we made sure to call up Quinn and book a day for her and Joe the day after Sugar's party. Unfortunately, she had to go to visit her dad for two weeks, and wasn't going to make it back until the middle of July. So two days after the Kurt/Blaine train wreck, we called in our rain check.

A lot of people might find it a little weird for me and my lady to spend so much time with one of my exes, but it really isn't. The fact is, that even though I always wanted Quinn for a serious, long-term girlfriend, she never saw me as anything other than a really good friend that she looked hot holding hands with. When we were together, we spent most of our time together babysitting, talking about homecoming, and going to confession. To be honest, we never did anything together even worth confessing to!

At some point, I had to just accept that Quinn needed a boyfriend about as much as Puck needs a hairbrush. I guess that's why we all get along so well, and why God Squad is still going strong.

Since Quinn and Joe are still seeing each other, and Mercy and I didn't wanna suggest any activities that would exclude or offend him (or his parents, since he still hasn't learned to keep secrets from them), we decided to make it a God Squad outing and go to church.

Quinn wanted to back to Unique's church, since they have a communion service every third Sunday. I got up that day, showered, and put on my blue suit. I picked up Mercy so we could be there for the 10:30 service, and kept my hug and kiss very chaste. She had on this pretty blue dress-plus-jacket style suit with these navy pumps and the LOR necklace I gave her for our Prom-iversary. She managed to look both appropriate and sexy at the same time. Now I know how President Obama feels every time he looks at his wife.

Wade was in his male clothes today, directing his choir in a lot of the same songs we sing at Mercy's church. I'm not sure what the actual doctrine-specific differences are between Mercy's non-denominational church and Wade's Methodist one, but I saw a lot of similarities in the services.

After the collection plate was passed, Wade disappeared into a dressing room and came back out in his boy clothes, but wearing earrings and makeup. In his Unique voice, she asked where we were heading for an early dinner, so we all decided to drop off cars and pile into Mercy's Tahoe to go to Breadstixx.

It was hilarious to see Unique getting all in me and Joe's faces for not pulling her chair out for her. Mercy told me awhile ago that Unique is a very old-fashioned kind of girl, who wouldn't tolerate anything less than a gentleman in a boyfriend. I actually wonder if she'll find anyone to date at McKinley next year.

We ordered our food; then Quinn, Unique an Mercy started to talk while Joe and I pretty much kept our mouths shut.

"Hey, Mercedes?" Quinn started.

"Yeah, Sissy?" Mercy answered, smiling since she knows Quinn loves it when she calls her that.

"Will you get upset if I ask you a question about Kurt..."

Quinn's about the only person in our group of friends, other than me, who could tell the subject wasn't one she liked discussing.

"...I saw how the conversation affected you at Sugar's party," she finished.

"No, I won't get upset; truth is, I need to tell somebody what went on Friday night before I explode!"

Thankfully our food arrived while Mercy replayed the whole scene for Quinn and Unique, so Joe and I just ate and exchanged eye rolls while they talked.

"Now, Diva…You know that Kurt Hummel is basically my spiritual father as well as my favorite fabulous masculine role model..." Unique began. "...but he know he was dead wrong for that!"

"I agree, Unique," started Quinn. "What exactly gives him the right to run around imparting the hard truths? He's not perfect!"

"Well..." answered Mercy. "I always felt like Kurt's mom always coddled him early on in life, even more than most gay boys..."

_Mercy always tries to explain away Kurt's attitude like this..._

"…because from what he's told me, she was definitely the kind of mother that would have really embraced having a gay son."

_Meaning she would have let him play in her makeup and high heels for dress-up._

"She probably tried to overcompensate when she got sick, and babied him extra," broke in Unique.

_Which is girl code for "used Kurt to pretend she had a daughter…"_

"Then she died, and the only way Burt knew how to relate to Kurt was to never tell him 'no,' like...ever!" chimed in Quinn.

_Never told him "mind your manners," "respect your elders," or "do unto others," either…_

"All of that together is a pretty good recipe for an opinionated person with very little filter between his brain and mouth." Mercy finished.

_Or maybe he's just a guy with a great heart who forgets his good intentions when he wants his way…I can tell cause, it's easy to spot a spoiled brat when you've been church-mouse poor._

"Well if he and Rachel really do end up in New York together, he'll fit right in..." Unique stated.

"Snarky, judgmental thin people with eccentric fashion sense and ultra-styled hair? They flock to NYC," laughed Quinn.

Then I guess they all realized it was pretty awful to badmouth a friend immediately after church. I'm glad I didn't say anything I was thinking out loud.

"So, Sam..." Quinn started up, looking a little wicked. "...Made any good confessions lately?"

"Ha-Ha, Blondie; wouldn't you like to know?" I wiggled my eyebrows laughed.

"I already know; Satan had her phone voice recorder on the whole time you guys were playing that Q&A game two weeks ago!"

_I'm gonna kill Satan..._

"Ooh, I'm gonna get her..." Mercy started.

Then she was interrupted by Joe, saying "It's really cool of you guys to spend so much of your summer making time to hang out with us. I'm really going to miss you Mercedes."

To be honest, Joe's like, the only Glee guy I trust around Mercedes completely. I think that whole "best friend is my mom" thing makes him more comfortable with girls than guys. Plus, Mercy is so maternal towards strays (like Quinn, Puck, and hell, me) that he probably sees her as his hot school-mom. I never get flirt-vibes from Teen Jesus.

"Me too, Joe..." Mercy looked sad as she said "...I'm gonna miss you guys so much it hurts."

"How often are you going to come back?" Unique asked.

"Well, that depends on how much money I make," Mercy answered. "Session work can pay really well if you can get it."

"Baby, you know all those auto-tuned hit-makers are gonna be begging to get you on their tracks..." I informed her.

"Yeah, Cedes; seems like a lot of the time, the background vocalists are more talented than the people they sing behind," encouraged Quinn.

"Mariah Carey, Luther Vandross, Sheryl Crow...all former back up singers," Unique pointed out.

"You'll be visiting Sam-and us- every three weeks," Joe vowed happily.

"I know, right?" said Unique. "We need our Diva time, too!"

"I mean, what will Sam have to confess to if you're not around tempting him with booze and filthy deeds!" Quinn joked.

"Hey, I'm just making up for all the time I dated you!" I answered her. "I forgot how to do penance back then, had to re-learn the 'Hail Mary' when I hooked up with Mercy!"

Everybody broke out into chuckles.

"Have you had to do any penance since we've been seeing each other?" Joe asked Quinn interestedly.

"Hello!" Quinn gestured to herself wildly. "Teen Mom; scared straight over here!"

Quinn saw how dejected Joe looked so she added "but I can admit to a few impure thoughts here and there."

"I, for one, love Catholicism," Unique stated. "I went to Catholic school all through elementary, and I totally plan to send my own kids. I loved reading the texts in Latin, and the alter boys are the reason I started singing. Plus, the promise of absolution from sin's pretty great..."

"That whole 'no birth control' thing is a bit much, though" Mercy admitted.

"Did you know there are still Catholic hospitals what won't tie a mother's tubes, but will perform a vasectomy?" I asked.

_Even I had to admit it was a little backward._

"How many kids does everyone here want?" Joe asked. "I'm just curious."

"I'm one of three kids, and it was a ball growing up; if it ain't broke, why fix it?" was Mercy's answer.

"Same here," I agreed.

"I'm gonna have kids until my eggs dry up...I say, let God decide," answered Quinn.

"I want at least four," said Unique. "I'll let my fabulous husband bring home the bacon and I'll raise our gorgeous children, one right after the other."

"I want at least three, too," Joe chimed in. "Twenty years from now we're gonna need a banquet room for God Squad reunions!"

"You think we'll stay close?" I wondered aloud.

I seriously ask myself all the time if our Glee friendships will last past graduation 2014, to be honest.

"We will," Quinn vows. "Our friendships are built on more than the ability to harmonize and dodge slushies together."

"She's right, guys..." Cedes agreed, reaching out for my hand. "We share a dedication to our faith and a commitment to God."

"Mercy and I are practically sisters," Quinn said, grabbing her other hand.

"You guys are the first friends I ever made," said Joe.

"Mercy's my favorite person in the whole world," I said, looking at her and squeezing the hand I held.

"Same here," agreed Quinn and Unique.

"Glee Club is great and all... but I never fit in there like I do with you guys," Joe admitted.

"Same here," went Quinn and Unique again.

We all laughed at that one too.

"Long live the God Squad..."

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**A/N: I think the next chapter is gonna focus on the Glee boys. Some of them are single, plus they all like Samcedes separately and as a couple. Plus, Finn has a few things he should get off his chest before he leaves the state.**


	5. Hanging Out, Halo, and Homies

**A/N: Since a few of the New Directions boys were single during the summer, and might have wanted some Samcedes time, too…I decided to have them invite the couple over for a **_**Halo**_**-athon. Don't be expecting any heart-to-hearts, but one ND boy has something to get off his chest…**

**Disclaimer: I do not now, nor will I ever claim ownership of Glee, its characters, or the manner in which those characters are mistreated on television. I would never admit to being responsible for the hot mess my favorite show has become.**

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**Chapter 4**

**Some Man-Only (Plus Mercy) Time**

**Mercedes POV:**

The next and final stop on the Samcedes tour of Lima was a day in the Hudmel Home with the Glee boys. It seemed kind of unfair to only go hang out with the couples, and I really prefer the company of the guys sometimes anyway. We came over to play a marathon game of Halo with Artie, Finn, and Mike after lunch the Saturday before Sam and I went to Yosemite with the Evanses. After dropping off our snack offerings, I stayed in the kitchen to help organize and Sam went in to get the "good controller." While I was stacking napkins on the tray, Finn walked in…obviously wanting to talk to me.

It was pretty clear to me that Finn wanted to speak about the problems I'd been having with Kurt and Rachel. I wasn't at all sure I wanted to have this conversation, though. I could tell, from the few times we'd seen each other this summer, that he was conflicted about something big. Whatever it was probably had something to do with his breakup from Rachel, and the fact that he no longer used most of his energy on their relationship. My guess was that Finn had taken a step back from the way he'd been living and realized that he'd been devoting a lot of time to being Rachel's cheerleader. Now that the job had gone to Kurt, Finn was probably flailing-and mad about it. Whether he was mad at her or everybody in general remained to be seen…

"Hey Mercedes?"

"Yeah, Finn?"

"I'm really sorry about your fight with Kurt, and all the stuff Rachel's been saying about you."

"Oh, yeah?"

I know I probably looked skeptical, but can you blame me? Given the way Finn's always gone against me when I got into it with Rachel, I honestly didn't believe him.

"Yeah, I tried to get him to stick around today and make up with you, but he and Rachel are going to hang out with Sugar and Rory."

"I don't get it Finn…why are you apologizing? You didn't make them come at me…you're not responsible."

_I have to be fair about it._

"I know, but I was one of the main ones on your case when you left New Directions. I know it's no excuse, but I always let Rachel convince me you were so jealous of her…It's really sucky now to find out she's been the jealous one all along."

_Man's got a point. _

"Even now, she and Kurt have been doing the whole "visiting Glee couples" thing like you and Sam; wanting to compete about that, too. It's kind of sick."

"It's okay Finn, I forgive you."

I gave him a hug, and he helped me carry the food into the den.

"I'm not even gonna give you any shit about how much Rachel wants things and how she sometimes forgets her friends in her quest for stardom."

The others looked up and paused the game to listen after we set down the tray and found places to sit.

"Aren't you still in love with Rachel? You're not gonna try to justify her actions?" I asked as I sat on the sofa behind Sam, who was on the floor.

"Nah; I mean, yeah, I still really do love Rachel. But I gave you that same speech at Booty Camp, then I had to eat my words when Mr. Shue and I spied on your "Candy-Man" performance with the Trouble Tones."

"So you finally admit I have as much motivation as Berry, that I practice just as hard as she does?" I wondered as Sam turned and dropped a kiss on my knee.

"That was the first time I had to admit that Rachel wasn't the only New Directions member with real star power," Finn replied, with this sort of dreamy look on his face.

"We _were _pretty fly…" I laughed.

"You were right; you'd outgrown us and needed room to soar."

"Plus, Shuester yelling at you like that and calling you lazy?" Mike interrupted. "That was seriously fucked up!"

"I was wrong for saying that, for implying New Directions wasn't enough for me." I broke in.

"No, you were completely right…the way New Directions was being run back then? You **had **outgrown it; counting on you to blast the glory notes wasn't using your talent wisely." Finn admitted.

"It's probably why we kept losing those first two years." Puck broke in.

"Right?" Artie said, waving his praise hand.

"You beat my group, though…even without Rachel."

"Hey, we had to use what we had…Blaine can really kill it on songs originally done by female artists, So we knew _Control_ was gonna be the shit." Artie explained. "Who doesn't like Ms. Jackson-If-You're-Nasty?

"And if we wanted to beat an all girl choir, we had to play up the male voices by featuring them all," Finn added.

"Shit, even Chang got a solo…that ought-ta tell you how desperate we were," Puck laughed, while dodging a cheese curl Mike threw at him.

"Lets not forget White Chocolate and his epic dance moves" Sam bragged, showing off his ab muscles.

"I judge you, so harshly, for that name baby," I added, leaning over to pull his shirt down for him.

"Had to let 'em know who my inspiration was, darlin" Sam answered while using my forward momentum to bring me down to his lap.

"Plus, we did our research…two of the judges were female, and a little eye candy never hurt" Finn interrupted, before we could get all couple-y.

"Speaking of which, Evans…how in the hell did you manage to grow so much between August and December?" Mike wanted to know.

"Yeah, what the fuck were they feeding you in Kentucky?" Puck asked. "Fertilizer? Steroids?"

Everybody laughed while Sam flexed his muscles and made Superman poses.

"I had to work out to stay in shape for the job, which increased my appetite. Plus, I was praying my ass off…" Sam joked. "…I knew I was gonna have to come back to Lima and get my woman back from the Bulldozer; I needed every pound God could send me!"

"Cedes, I didn't wanna ask you this in front of Tina, given how fascinated she is with the skills of 'Cocoa Butter' over there…" Mike started, gesturing with his head toward Sam. "…but didn't it ever bother you to think of him getting paid to shake his groove thing?"

"Oh, hell no…" I immediately answered, stroking his chest over the shirt he wore. "It's actually really hot to think about all those cougars and gay men fan-girling over my man!"

"According to Mercy, I needed the confidence boost anyway…" Sam chimed in. "Having people pay me to dance and take my clothes off did a lot for my self esteem. Sophomore year sucked balls."

"I always knew Sam would do anything for his family, this just proved it!" I finished.

Artie asked, "Weren't you the same boy who was scared to show 'nuttage' during _Rocky Horror_?"

Mike lauged his ass off and threw a Little Debbie in it's wrapper at Sam, which was retrieved by Finn.

"Yeah, you got all snippy about the gold booty shorts last year, but then we found you dancing in a pair of red ones in December…" Finn pondered around his mouthful of snack cake. "What the hell was the difference?"

"Last year I gave a damn about looking lame at school, this year I didn't," Sam told him.

"Well, from one dude who quit giving a fuck about his reputation to another, I gotta say…" Puck put in his two cents. "…I'm a lot happier just doing me. Fuck the haters; if they aren't taking care of you and yours they can suck it."

"Exactly," Sam agreed.

"Sam figured that out last summer; but what about you, Puck?" I asked, curiously. "Did dating Zizes convince you to quit the whole popularity kick?"

"Kind of. That's when I quit caring about making other motherfuckers happy, and just let everybody know I was proud of the girl I chose."

The he got this thoughtful look.

"But I realized too late that I was spending so much time defending her that I neglected to be somebody she'd wanna defend. I thought telling the haters to fuck off was enough to keep her into me."

"Hey, what the hell happened there, Puck…you never said." Finn asked.

"Yeah, we saw the two of you last July and figured ya'll were endgame. But you had broken up by the time school started." Sam agreed.

"Well, Zizes basically told me that she wasn't in love with my ass and didn't wanna waste her time anymore. See, she felt like even though I was the hottest guy she'd ever dated, that the hotness wasn't a big enough reason to keep seeing me. Zizes said she didn't have any more fun with me than she did when she went out with that short dude in AV club with the fucked up grill."

_Damn, that Lauren is a smart bitch. Way too mature for her own good._

"Then she started hanging out with this bi-racial dude on the hockey team as friends…he made her happy, they worked out together and shit. Zizes stayed bringing his name up in conversation, but I didn't think anything about it. I didn't even notice it when she lost all that weight and got all giggly and girly. By the time I got suspicious that they were more than friends, it was too late. Plus, you know Zizes is a sucker for a dude who's race she can't tell for real."

I guess Sam wanted to diffuse the maudlin relationship talk because that's when he tried to be funny.

"Well, can you blame her? Bi-racial people do tend to be extremely attractive."

_Oh, Lord…Now the Rainbow Coalition is gonna start some shit…_

"That was racist as fuck, White Bread!" Mike yelled.

"And demeaning to my sistas and brothas like your beautiful girlfriend…" schooled Artie. "…who don't happen to fall under the category of 'exotic Black folk.' You know, some people actually **do** manage to be attractive without the prerequisite of having European features; meaning, hooking up with "Massa" ain't the only way to pretty up a gene pool!"

_Damn, Artie just had to go there…_

"Okay, first of all it was a joke. Why does everything with two have to be so serious?" Sam asked, looking frustrated and kind of amused. "Second, I'm pretty sure I get a free pass…Me and Mercy's children are gonna be mixed; so I think I'm allowed to make one comment on how beautiful they're gonna be."

"Man's got a point, you guys" Finn said.

_I actually agree with Finn, Sam probably shouldn't have said it…but that shit was totally true._

"You ain't wrong…Even if Sexy Mama dumps his ass, I'm pretty sure Bieber-head got a lifetime of chasing sexual chocolate ahead of him." Puck's dumb ass joked, while Sam shot him a glare.

"Yeah, Barbie dolls got no chance with Evans after 'Cedes," Artie said. He held his hands up in a "don't shoot the messenger" position when Sam turned his glare on him. I guess Sam wasn't gonna put up with any joking about us breaking up.

"So you're not planning on hooking up with Britts, next year?" I joked. Hopefully me stroking the back of his neck would keep him from taking offense.

"Britts who?" was his reply, as he nuzzled into my hand.

"You're gonna look out for her though, right?" Mike asked.

"Yeah, she's gonna need a new best friend without Santana around…" Artie claimed. "But if I try to watch out for her, Tana will have my balls."

"If she seems to start flailing, I'm counting on you to help your fellow blonde," I told him. By this time Sam had started stroking my bare leg and I could tell he was getting ready to pucker up and demand a kiss, company be damned.

"I will, I will; now where's my sugar?" Sam agreed, right before going in for the smooch.

"Okay, Samantha…you can quit the mushy fuck-me shit…" Puck interrupted.

"Yeah, we ain't here for that fuckery!" Artie agreed.

"My girl wasn't invited for me to get all kissy-faced with, so calm the fuck down," Mike chimed in.

"And I'm single again, so you two are depressing the hell outta me," finished Finn.

So I climbed off of Sam's lap, reached for my controller, and commenced to kicking some Glee-boy ass.

* * *

**A/N: I started to write a Samcedes/Flanamotta chapter, but I really feel like Rachel and Kurt would have concentrated a lot of effort into sucking up to Sugar and Rory. In my head, every time Sam and Cedes called up Sugar and Rory to invite them to hang…they already had plans with Kurt and Rachel. None of the other New Directions would have agreed to spend any time with those two until they apologized to Mercedes, and Gayberry probably figured the youngest Glee clubbers would be easy to cull from the herd. But don't worry though…Sam was Rory's Christmas sponsor/bro-ship mate, and Mercedes was Sugar's fellow TroubleTone/friendship facilitator. On the forced outings, Sugar probably spent the whole time throwing Rachel shade (Aspersers) and bragging about Mercedes. Rory had Samcedes singing "Summer Nights" as his ring-tone, which got on Rachel and Kurt's nerves big time-plus, he shot multiple texts off to Sam whenever Hummelberry bored him. Flanamotta ain't here for Gayberry…**

**I think this fic is pretty much finished, but I may add two more chapters. If the main story goes in the direction I think it is, then there may be a Rachel-Mercedes showdown afoot. If it doesn't fit in **_**Spring and Summer Only**_**, I'll add it here. Plus, nicekittn5 really makes me want to write a chapter where New Directions members run into Shane, and somebody (probably Tina or Santana) kicks him in the balls. That's just my crazy coming out though, it'll probably never materialize.**

**I have to say, this was the most fun thing I ever wrote. I really enjoyed all of the dialogue and it really helped me get over my writer's block in the main fic. Stay tuned there, exciting things are about to go down! As usual, thanks for the reviews, favorites, and follows, they totally made my day!**

**Love You All!**


	6. Mustache Man, Miss Me with this Mess

**A/N: It's finally here! My long-promised Shane chapter! I know, Shane Tinsley never did anything to Mercedes in canon that warrants the way I shade him in my fic...But I don't care. Right now, all of my frustration is centered on anybody who ever stood or hovered in the way of my OTP. So the Samcedes-blocking freak is gonna get it today!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own this show or the characters of this show.**

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**Mercedes POV:**  
July 29, 2012

**Really, Dude?  
**

So the Sunday night after we got back from Yosemite, Santana and Tina went with me to a movie so we could have ourselves a good old-fashioned Bitch-Fest. See, Santana and I have been taking time away from our significant others and doing this ever since we got close singing with the TroubleTones. We figured nobody else in Glee was really, truly capable of appreciating how much fun it was to sit in an action or horror movie, talk out-loud obnoxiously all the way thru it, then dare somebody to get in our faces. And we always have a blast. Then Tina went off on Rachel for hogging the spotlight right before Nationals, and Santana declared that "Cohen-Chang can hang." So we started to include her after that. We'd just seen _The Dark Knight Rises_ and were leaving the theater laughing our asses off, when we ran into Shane and his new girlfriend Marcy in the lobby. After saying hello, Marcy went to the bathroom, leaving Shane there to talk to us. I was on my best behavior; trying to be as polite as possible, but Tina and Tana pursed their lips and crossed their arms over their chests as soon as they realized he wasn't going to leave us alone or go wait somewhere else for his lady.

"So, 'Cedes..." Shane started. "I hear you and the White boy are done for, now." He had this cocky-ass smirk on his face that made me want to elbow him in the nose.

I just stood there gawking at his pompous ass while wondering what the hell I ever saw in him for a minute. Then I answered. "Where the fuck did you hear that shit?"

_Like I couldn't guess._

"Around church...My mama noticed he hasn't been there in a few weeks. Deacon Riley said the same thing, she asked him..."

_With her nosy ass._

"...So I figured you two had finally imploded. Guess you'll be on the market for a new man soon."

_I swear this fool..._

"So if you're feeling upset, or need somebody to..." Shane continued, before Tana cut him off.

"Listen up, Biggie Smalls..." she butted in. She'd put her bag down the minute Marcy walked away, so she got right in his face and pointed her fingers at him menacingly. "If you're here on a date with your fake 'Cedes, trying to see if the real 'Cedes is at all interested in hooking back up with your dusty ass- you need to fuck the hell off. Cause the answer is a big..."

She looked him up and down.

"...fat..."

She looked him side to side.

"...HELL NO!" Santana finished, rolling her neck like a hood-rat on Maury Povich.

I kind of bit my lip to keep from giggling, partly to spare Shane's feelings...I know what it feels like to be called fat. Plus, I didn't want the problem to get worse.

"Yeah, Shane..." Tina advised, tying valiantly to be a little nicer than Satan. She knew Shane couldn't be _all_ bad, since I was with him for so long. I guess Tina didn't want to come off as combative right off the bat. She put her own bag down before she said anything else, though. "...don't be that guy. 'Cedes and Sam aren't any of your business, so you should really stop this."

"What the hell did I say?" Shane defended himself. "I'm just trying to see if my friend needs some support." Then he tried to be messy. "You know, like I helped Mercedes cope last summer when you all got ghost on her?"

I guess Shane's innocent act was enough to test Satan's gangster, because she quit playing with him after he said that.

"Bitch, please...You didn't help any-damn body cope; you just helped your mother-fucking self!" Satan answered him. "We all heard your little Skype fuckery. Trying to break Samcedes up." I saw Shane cringe when he heard our 'ship name. Santana kept going though. "Don't try to play a player- I see your busted ass; and my girl does too! See, this right here..." She motions toward me in a circular fashion with both hands splayed out to encompass all of my Mercedes-ness. "...ain't none of your business, Sean Kingston, so you can just press the hell on!"

At that point even Tina was beyond being polite. You never accuse Miss Cohen-Chang of bad friendship to her face; that'll get her back up with the quickness. "And get your story straight, Bubba! We care about Mercedes more than _you_ ever did. Her New Directions family supports what makes her most happy, and that happens to be Sam! If you had been a_ real_ friend last summer the way you claim you were, then you'd have helped those two mend fences..." Then Tina sent Shane a smirk "...just like _we_ all did!"

Shane had always suspected all my friends were sly-ways trying to help Sam win me back, and at the time I always told him he was crazy. Now I guess we both knew the truth.

"So you admit to helping Blondie steal my girl?" Shane blustered, obviously getting angry.

"Fuck yeah!" Satan crowed. "Payback is a bitch, ain't it? And don't think for one fucking minute that we forgot you trying to come between us TroubleTones and New Directions." She got even closer to Shane and started reaching for her hair unconsciously, to get to her blades. I pulled her back but it didn't stop her from yelling. "I may not have wanted 'Cedes to hug everybody and shit when we were trying to rehearse, but you kept her ass away from everybody in the lunchroom, the quad... controlling ass mother-fucker!"

"You caused enough trouble with all your 'help,' Birdman," Tina continued. "My girl doesn't need any more of it in her life."

"Okay you guys..." I finally put a stop to the madness before it got completely out of control. "Thanks for your help, ladies, but I got this..."

I turn to look at Shane.

"Sam and I are more in love now than ever before, Shane; and in a way the separation you helped cause made us even stronger. But I don't owe you any explanation for why Sam hasn't been at church. So stay up outta my business." I turned to walk away and beckoned Tina and Tana to pick their purses up to follow me.

"Cedes, I was just trying to..." I heard Shane growl and stomp his foot in frustration; he was always trying to look like the good guy. It pissed me off, because it looked like Shane was trying to manipulate me again.

So I turned back around and dropped my own shit. "Shut the fuck up, Shane!" I said around clenched teeth. "You already admitted to the mess you pulled last year. You broke my relationship up and managed to make yourself look like the good guy doing it. You even admitted to my big brothers how easy it was for to do. I don't need you fucking with me, or my man again. So move on..."

Now 'ole boy was mad for real.

"I swear, you chicks are fucking crazy." he started. "Just because your boy is high-school hot and you're all caught up in fantasies about having green-eyed babies someday, you got yourself fooled into thinking the shit is real. Even if you can't see it I know for a fact that as soon as that White boy realizes his Cracker-Ass family won't approve, or he finds a Barbie doll that'll let him fuck her up the ass; _he's_ gonna be the one moving on. Then you'll be sorry you turned me down today," he said, using the same tone of voice as when he told me not to hug Rachel before Maria auditions.

That's when I saw Satan and Tina exchange glances, and I knew exactly what that shit was about. I was just mad enough to catch Tina's eye and give her the go-ahead.

"I'm sorry, alright." I told him. "Sorry I didn't turn you down the first time you asked me out. Sorry I didn't listen to Sam when he told me what you were up to. Sorry I took so long to get with him after he got back. But you're about to be sorry, too..." Then I smiled.

Then Satan did this seriously bad-ass Cheerio-looking high kick, which caught Shane right in the nut-sack. I caught a glimpse of the happy-ass snarl all over her face while she did it and the shit actually scared me for a second. Tina used his forward momentum -okay, she used the fact that he'd doubled over in pain- to kick Shane's ass over onto the floor. Then she did a quick look-around to see if anybody had noticed what was going on before they both landed one kick apiece to his midsection.

"That's for thinking you have any right, whatsoever, to comment on my girl's relationship with her fine-ass _novio_!" You know Santana is for real serious when she comes out with the Spanglish.

"And for your information, Glee is family, asshole!" Tina yelled. "Something you'd understand if you weren't such a selfish prick.. We New Directions love hard and will always be in each others' lives. So I can promise you that Sam and Mercedes' love is forever..."

"We _all_ know my sexy lezzy ass is all about the slit..." Tana continued. "...but I'd for damn sure let that hot 'Cracker-ass White Boy' use me all the way up, before I'd go anywhere with your Rick Ross looking _culo_! If Evans was your kind of ugly and was sporting a fucked up 'stache, your racist ass wouldn't give a shit about him being White...You just hate not being able to compete on Trouty's level!"

"So you need to do exactly what the lady just advised you to do... And fuck off!" Was Tina's next comment.

"Cause we can do all of this again if we need to!" finished Santana, gesturing at Shane as he rolled around on the floor.

Then we gathered our things from where we'd dropped them, and left Shane there for Marcy to find.

* * *

**A/N: Okay, this wasn't very long, but it got the point across...and it figured hugely into Chapter 18 of SaSO, which should be up soon.**

**I hope you Shane-shade throwers out there got some feels...I know my messy ass did!**


	7. Into the Nitty Gritty with Gayberry

**A/N: This chapter takes place in early August, after Mercedes and the Evans family get back from Yosemite. In my head, Mercedes and Sam have been getting a lot of pressure from New Directions about the whole Gayberry nonsense. The Glee family is divided by those wanting Samcedes to make up and be friends again (Blaine, Tina, Finn, and Britt), those wanting Mercedes to completely put her foot up Rachel's butt (Santana, Puck, Artie, and Quinn) and those who want them to pretend the situation never happened (Mike, and Joe). Sam and Mercedes finally give into peer pressure and decide to meet the two offending parties head on. I hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or its characters. I wouldn't claim the hot mess this show has become for anything on Earth.**

* * *

**Mercedes POV:**  
August 7, 2012

**Persona Non Grata- Pt. 1**

The day after Finn left for boot camp in Georgia, Sam and I had plans to spend time with Rachel and Kurt. We had been talking on and off about possibly burying the hatchet with those two, but never really intended to do it. There were several reasons, though, for us to at least see them and find out what they had to say for themselves. First of all, Blaine was really pressuring Sam. Blaine felt like Kurt had a world of hurt feelings coming his way after Finn and Rachel left, and wanted to soften the blow for his boyfriend by rekindling important friendships. Second, some new information involving Ms. Berry had come to light, and it totally needed to be addressed. Finally, despite us spending a whole summer ignoring Rachel and Kurt; Sam and I aren't really the type to hold grudges. Even though neither of us wanted to be friends with those two anymore; we didn't want to be petty, either.

So we decided that Sam and Kurt would have a Hudmel-Home "lady-chat" while Rachel and I had dinner at this vegan restaurant in Columbus. We wouldn't be driving there together, but if dinner went well, Rachel and I would take in a movie…they were playing "Hairspray" at the dollar movie theater down the street from the restaurant. I got there first, and ordered an organic apple juice while waiting on Rachel to arrive. When she got there, I was actually kind of impressed with her outfit. Kurt's obviously had some influence on Rachel's wardrobe choices lately, because her look was really cute. Sort of Pretty-Woman-at-the-Kentucky Derby party, with this earth-toned sleeveless sheath and a really great floppy hat. It was really flattering.

"Hello, Mercedes… You look nice." I did. I decided to pay some homage to my girl Beyonce and wear my favorite Dereon ensemble. The top was this long tee with a cute silver and black crown pattern across the front, which I paired with a copper colored leather bolero. The jacket was really expensive but it looked it, so I justified the expense by telling myself I'd wear it all through college. I wore a pair of dark blue skinny jeans and black peep-toe killer heels. I wore really bold eye makeup with this great gold-colored lip gloss, and pushed my 'fro back with a headband to complete my look. I guess I must have given off a totally different brand of sexy than the one I usually have, because Rachel actually looked shocked into giving me a sincere compliment.

"Hi, Rachel; you too."

Then the waitress came over and took our orders.

"So how has your summer been so far?" Rachel asked.

"Really great. Sam and I have been having a blast."

I told her about our vacations and all of the busy work Sam and I had been doing, then I asked, "How about yours?"

"Good, I guess. A bit lonely, I suppose."

"Lonely?"

She got this really hurt expression on her face, before answering with, "I guess I never realized how big a role Finn and the rest of Glee club have played in my summers before."

"Oh?"

"I haven't really seen anyone other than Kurt, Blaine, Sugar and Rory. Everyone else has been having so much fun, and I've missed it. At this point, I'd _pay_ to have Puckerman around making crude jokes or Santana to call me up and refer to me as "Hobbit'."

I told her what she wanted to hear and said, "I'm sure they miss you too…"

"But you don't?" Rachel asked in this timid voice.

"Rachel…"

"Please, Mercedes; hear me out…" she looked pretty downtrodden, so I quit talking and let her go on. "…I know I have a history of doing things in the name of achieving my goals, and that more times than not, I manage to hurt a friend in the process…"

I nodded and accepted my meatless, cheese-less lasagna from the waitress. Rachel ignored the dinner salad being placed in front of her.

"…but my friends have always forgiven me; which is why I found it so surprising this year that you guys actually made me suffer for my actions."

I kept on nodding while taking a bite of my food. It was actually really good.

"I know that when I posted those things online that I hurt you. I also know you don't want to hear me go on and on about how motivated I am and how much I hate seeing others get what I want. I am just going to apologize for competing with you, and hope you forgive me."

I guess she finally realized I hadn't answered her, because she quit talking and waited on me to reply.

"Honestly, Rachel? I don't believe your apology is sincere. Usually, you don't apologize until you've gotten whatever it is you wanted in the first place."

Then she changed the subject without even pretending to be surprised at my candor.

"Mercedes, what changed?" Rachel looked honestly confused. "Why did everyone, but especially you, cut me off this summer? Why didn't my friends just forgive me?

"You want the truth?"

"Please."

I took a deep breath and formulated my answer. "Because most of us have graduated. And your being happy is no longer necessary for us to keep doing what we love, anymore."

Rachel looked affronted, but she asked; and I wasn't through. She started to pick at her salad while I continued.

"Look, Rachel… I may have thrown a fit over you demanding all of the solos and Shue kissing your ass this past year; but even I can admit that you were a huge part of what made us New Directions great. I can't speak for everyone; but three years in Glee definitely helped me develop a genuine sense of fear that you'd leave us in the lurch if we ever quit giving you your way."

"Mercedes, I would never…"

"Can it Rachel, I'm talking. You left Glee club, back in sophomore year…just because Tina was given a song from a musical that you'd already claimed as 'property of Rachel.' I personally realized, early on, that you put a lot of effort into being completely indispensable to the New Directions. We all did plenty behind the scenes; but you were constantly pushing to have things go the exact way that you envisioned. You pushed Shuester, you pushed Finn, and you pushed us in the direction you saw us going. And your suggestions were usually good ones. So it was just easier to let you plan everything than it was to figure out how to make things work without you. It's why Artie was afraid to give me Maria, and it's also why we forgave you and Finn for the Superman kiss."

Then Rachel bowed her head sheepishly and pretended to push food around with her fork.

"But Glee is over for most of us, and the juniors and sophomores won't have you around now. You can't hold Glee Club hostage to your whims any longer, so none of us have any more reason to cow-tow to your crazy by letting your mess slide."

Apparently, the only part of my whole speech that penetrated her skull was the part where I admitted that we let her do everything; because she asked, "So you admit to using me to further your own agendas?"

"No," I shot back. "I admit that we made the best of the shitty situation we were dealt."

"Well, If you needed my voice so much, why did you leave New Directions?" Rachel inquired, looking confused.

I thought about it for a second before answering truthfully.

"Because of Sam. Last summer he showed me that I was so much more than what people let me be…that I was worth more than even I believed. I deserved every bit of the recognition you wouldn't allow me even a corner of. So I took my talent elsewhere."

I couldn't stomach any more food on top of this conversation so I waived over a member of the wait staff and asked for the check.

"But don't you see how hurtful it was for me to be all alone?" Rachel whined. "I'm the only New Directions girl who was never once invited to perform with the TroubleTones. You guys excluded me on purpose, the same way you did this summer!"

_Hey, it's lonely at the top._

"Rachel, you and Mr. Shue managed to turn our last run at Nationals into a showcase for you! I understood that you wanted to impress Ms. Tibideaux; but in hindsight, don't you think you could have spared a little of your spotlight for Kurt? I mean, she might have liked to see a little bit more of his contribution to the group as well!"

_This chick is completely lost…still doesn't get it._

"The fact is, Rachel; that if I had allowed you any part in the TroubleTone number, then all of the hard work I'd done all year would have been lumped in with your many accomplishments…and I earned my TroubleTone moment."

I guess by then Rachel had realized I came here for the express purpose of telling her about herself, because that's when she went on the defensive.

"I thought you were above selfish pettiness, Mercedes…I guess I had you pegged wrong. You wouldn't even help Kurt and me meet your new boss!"

"Kurt knows my reasons, and I believe them to be valid." I responded while smiling at the waitress for bringing the bill.

"Well, even you have to admit that, despite my very selfish reasons for posting what I did online; the advice I gave you was good on its face. You _should_ be checking up on a music producer who hires you for a job before having ever met you!" After she said that, Rachel crossed her arms over her chest and turned her head to avoid my glare.

When she turned her head back, I shot her a knowing look and placed my debit card in the bill folder. "By now, I know that you have. So what all did you find out?"

She lowers her head petulantly. "That Mr. Chism is exactly who a budding recording artist should want to have in her corner."

"That's what I found out when I did my own research last school year," I crowed. That's when the waitress brought me my receipt.

"I feel that I should inform you that I have a meeting with Mr. Chism next week."

_Finally, the truth…here we go._

"He told me…" I answered her. "…my boss said that somebody from my high school had been begging his assistant to schedule her for a meeting for the last month. Then he asked if the girl was a friend of mine…."

_Bitch, I bet you're scared now._

"…I said you were the star of my competition show choir." I told her.

What I didn't tell her was that Sam may or may not have emailed Mr. Chism a link to JBI's blog and all of Rachel's comments.

"You didn't tell him that I was a backstabber…or, or a glory hog?"

_Not that he wouldn't have figured it out on his own eventually or anything._

"Why are you projecting your crap onto me?"

"I'm sorry, Mercedes. I shouldn't have assumed…" Rachel started, looking too fucking pleased for words.

"Now, that apology I believe-now that you've gotten your way again!"

"Kurt and I were wrong; I admit to that now. I hope we can be friends again."

I picked up my bag and stood up before answering her.

"We were never friends, Rachel…you were an important cog in the wheel of my favorite part of high school. I was your support staff. So the answer to your question is Hell-to-the-No!"

Then I walked away from the table and away from Rachel.

* * *

**Sam POV:**  
August 7, 2012

**Persona Non Grata-Pt. 2**

It's about 7 pm, and I'm about to knock on the door of Kurt's bedroom for our scheduled "lady-chat," or as Mercy calls it…our ManDate. Carol and Burt are in Fort Benning, Georgia; where they got a hotel room after dropping off Finn to his Army base. They wouldn't be back until Saturday, so this was a great time for Kurt and I to talk over some of the issues he's been having with my girlfriend. She and I agreed that another four-way outing or hang-out probably wasn't a good idea.

After Kurt lets me in, he leads me over to a small table and a set of chairs in the corner; it kind of looks like what a little girl would have for stuffed-animal tea parties, except its bigger. Mercy told me a "lady chat" would consist of snacks, your beverage of choice (though tea and warm milk were mainstays), and ice cream at the end. I wasn't opposed to a little dessert, so if Kurt wanted to pick my brain while feeding me goodies I was totally game.

Kurt poured me a mug of hot cocoa and dished up all of these little cakes and cookies before starting.

"How have you been, Sam?"

"I've been good, Kurt. You?"

"I'm okay…How is Mercedes?"

"Again, she's doing good…Having a lot of fun this summer," I mentioned while taking a sip of cocoa.

_Damn this is good…is that caramel I taste?_

"So I've heard. I guess I should be the first to make mention of the elephant in the room by saying that I really had no intention of causing so much drama at Blaine's house. I know my comments were unnecessary, but I honestly felt that they were innocent ones."

Kurt tried to look angelic while offering me a frosted pink cupcake.

"Come on, Kurt." I took one, then broke a piece off before continuing. "It was pretty obvious that you were jealous of Mercy and I spending so much time with our other Glee friends. You made that very clear, since every word out of your mouth had something to do with what you'd heard about it."

I bit into the cupcake and had to stop myself from shoving the whole thing in my mouth. _Damn Kurt can bake!_

"For a moment there I'd forgotten how very good at reading people you are, Sam Evans," Kurt laughed. "So, yes; I was jealous. I made the comment about you guys not watching movies with the others, and the "dirty laundry" remark because I hated hearing about those things from a secondhand source. It hurt…Most of what our friends told us about were things that happened last summer, things I had no clue ever even happened."

_Things you could have found out about it you'd cared enough to give Mercy a call…_

"Well, Kurt…last summer you weren't around much."

I finished my cupcake and started on a peanut butter cookie.

"I know, I know…I've heard it from Satan, Tina, and Artie alike. And I can admit that I got so wrapped up in my play, in Blaine, and in Rachel that I completely ignored Mercedes. By the time I started missing her, she'd found you…"

_Like I'm a consolation prize?_

"We actually found each other, Kurt."

I was making sure that Kurt knew I saw through his little jabs, and that he also knew I was going to call him out every time he tried that shit.

"I realize that…I really didn't mean it as snarky as it came out. Sorry…"

Kurt took a small bite of the cookie he had just picked up.

"…Sam, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure, Kurt."

"Are you the reason Mercedes won't forgive me? I don't mean that in a 'Sam's causing trouble' kind of way. But is your relationship with Mercedes why she won't accept bad friendship anymore? Mercedes was always so slow to anger where I was concerned. I was wondering why she's changed."

I took another sip so I could formulate my answer.

"I can't take credit for my girl finally knowing what she's worth, Kurt." I chided. "But on some level, we helped each other out in that way. See, Mercedes and I found one other when my world was crashing all around me, and she was really lonely. She was there to make me feel like I finally had some support, like I didn't have to carry everything on my shoulders by myself. And I was there to make her see how important she was to me, how much better my life was with her in it. When you can really look into the face of how much you mean to another person, it's really hard to take bullshit from anybody else."

Kurt listened to me, then took a sip of his tea after thinking about what I'd said.

"I get it; you can't go around making people feel like dirt if they finally know they're better than that."

"Exactly."

"Sam…Can I ask you another question?"

"Shoot."

"Do I treat Mercedes like dirt?"

"Yes, and no…" I answered him. "…You know, Kurt; some of our friends seem to think you latched on to Mercedes on purpose when you didn't have anybody else. They feel like you only befriended her so you'd be less lonely. Then when you fell in love with Blaine and finally found some common ground with Rachel, you ditched her for the people you really wanted to hang around…"

He seemed worried that any of our friends would think he'd ever used Mercy like that. "Do you think that? Does Mercedes?"

I assured him, saying "No, we don't. I know firsthand, how giving Mercedes is. I wasn't around when you two met, but I can totally see her going out of her way to help you feel less alone. If I know her, and I do; she probably sought you out, not the other way around. And it's impossible not to respond to her when she's showing you her loving side. So I know there was no way you could have resisted Mercy's friendship; you probably felt like you'd found an oasis in the desert."

Kurt smiled like he was having really fond memories. "You're right. She was the best thing in my life sophomore year."

"So that's the no part," I offered. "But I do believe you ignore her so much because deep down you know you can count on her loyalty. You had to work really hard to forge a friendship with Rachel…hell, you had to change schools! And from what I remember, Blaine rejected you before you two started dating as well. Mercedes' friendship was pretty much a given, and you've always taken it for granted. You never once thought she'd replace you as a best friend, even when you replaced her."

I could tell Kurt wanted to argue with me, but he resisted to keep me talking.

"And this summer?"

"This summer things have finally come to a head. You had a choice, when Rachel posted those things online. You could have defended Mercedes, you could have given her a heads up before the grapevine did. You could have tried to show her a little of the loyalty you've come to rely on her for. But you didn't. So she drew her line in the sand."

"I never wanted to imply that Mercedes was in any way less talented than Rachel…but you were in Glee. You know Rachel was our star. Forgive me for having the same assumption as the rest of the club about who would break out into show business first."

"No one agreed with your assumption other than Mr. Shue, Finn, and Rachel; Kurt. I don't even prefer R&B or rap music, but the first time I ever heard ya'll sing I wanted to buy Mercedes' album. She has plenty of star power, whether or not she's allowed to let it out.

I guess he couldn't bite his tongue any longer because the next thing he said was completely argumentative.

"But Rachel has proactively been trying to make her mark on the music industry since I've known her, Sam. She's dedicated and works harder than Mercy. Mercedes came to class one day dressed up, and sang a song she's heard a million times, while a boy who loved her taped it. It doesn't seem fair that she gets noticed when Rachel hones her craft every chance she gets. That's why I never defended Mercedes…good fortune just fell into her lap!"

_Nice to know how you really feel…_

"Number one: Mercedes doesn't sing for fame or because she thinks it will make her rich…she does it because she loves to sing. I would wager that Mr. Chism responded to the love Mercedes has for the music, rather than the reason her video was posted. Number two: thank you for never speaking those thoughts to 'Cedes out loud, because hearing that you felt like that would have completely crushed my girl."

Kurt obviously didn't want to look like he was jealous any more than he already had, so he changed the subject.

"And wasn't it just a bit petty of Mercedes to bring up things I said almost two years ago? People change, Sam… How does she know I haven't grown up since back then?"

_He just doesn't get it…_

"Kurt, you've managed to insult me at least twice in less than fifteen minutes, all because I represent someone you're having an argument with."

"But I apologized, Sam!"

"You never apologized to Mercedes, Kurt…"

"Okay, I get it." Kurt concedes. "But you have to know that I only said that stuff back then to help her out. She and I were finally popular, but if Sue had kicked her off the Cheerios then Mercedes would have lost that."

It was pretty obvious he'd spent the past few weeks coming up with a justification for his words.

"True. But she quit the Cheerios anyway, because she didn't like how popularity made people act. See, Mercedes didn't want to be the type of _friend_ to suggest that another friend starve themselves."

Kurt seemed to be thinking about what I'd said, but I went on.

"And Mercedes had another valid point, Kurt…what about the things she could have said to you? Would you have just forgotten it if she'd said them out loud? Speaking as another straight boy you planned to hit on; the vibe I got from you when I first got to McKinley was a little off-putting, to say the least. She could have gone off on you for that, and justified it by saying she was keeping you from getting beaten up by a potentially homophobic jock. If Mercedes had gone all diva on you in the interest of keeping your face intact, would she have been in the right?"

"No…she wouldn't. Friends don't hurt each other for any reason, I see that now…"

_Why don't I believe him?_

"…But you have to admit that Mercedes could have done something to help Rachel and I when we asked. Jealousy obviously played a part in her turning me down."

_Is that what all of this is about?_

"You said 'turning me down' like Mercedes decided not to get a coffee with you because she had plans with me already. It's not the same thing. Her professional life isn't something she should include people in just because they're her friends. Mercy did the right thing…."

_Yep, that's what all this is about…Kurt looks like his dog just died._

"…Besides, even after Rachel went on and on about Mercy's boss being disreputable; she still was able to finagle a meeting with him on her own for next week. Nobody needed an introduction from Mercedes."

"Rachel and I have a meeting with Mercy's boss next week?"

_Well look who just perked up…_

"_Rachel_ has a meeting with Mercy's boss next week."

_Hate to burst your bubble, Kurt…_

"I guess I had that coming. And I'm not at all surprised. But could you please tell Mercedes I'm sorry, though… because I really am."

I took the last bite of cupcake on my plate and slugged down the rest of my hot chocolate before answering.

"Tell her yourself, Kurt…You're the one she wants to hear it from."

Then I stood up and went down to my own room.

* * *

**A/N: I hope this gave everyone a little bit of closure to the whole Gayberry drama situation. They're going to b e civil and ignore one another when they can't. It's honestly the best I could do.  
**


End file.
